Athletic gloves of various types are widely used in sports to improve performance. In sports such as baseball and softball, players typically wear a glove on the non-throwing hand for catching fly balls, throws, and line drives and for fielding ground balls. Gloves are typically made of a durable material such as leather. Baseball and softball gloves can have either an “open back” or a “closed back.” In an open-back design, a sizeable portion of the back of the user's hand is often visible, and when the glove's wrist strap is undone, the portions of the glove that come together at the wrist strap can usually be pulled apart. In a closed-back design, the portion of the glove around the back of the user's hand is typically either a solid piece or several pieces connected together that cannot be pulled apart in the course of normal use. A finger hole is often included for a user so that the user may have the index finger on the outside of the glove if desired.
The wrist strap on an open-back glove typically brings two portions of the glove closer to each other to achieve a snug fit around the user's hand. Bunching is limited because the back of the glove around the wrist area typically consists of two pieces each having freedom of movement such that they can be brought together and overlapped.
In a closed-back design, however, a conventional wrist strap is difficult to implement. The portions of the back of the glove around the wrist do not have freedom of movement in a closed-back design, and cinching this area of the glove to achieve a tighter fit causes uncomfortable bunching. Additionally, a significant amount of force is required to bunch the leather, making adjusting the fit quickly more difficult than in an open-back design.